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After broken treaties and years of injustice, people are coming together in Unity to take stand for the return of the Black Hills to the Lakota Tribes. Join the movement for The Black Hills Unity Concert on September 9-11 in South Dakota.

The Black Hills Unity Concert is a three-day, drug- alcohol- and admission-free event that utilizes the instrument of music to unite Lakota/Nakota/Dakota peoples (the Pte Oyate, also known as the Buffalo Nation) in the name of our sacred sites and our Mother Earth. The Black Hills Unity Concert is a hub for groups and organizations, local and nation-wide, working to address social, environmental, and economic issues.

Thousands of Native and non-Native peoples came together in South Dakota for The Black Hills Unity Concert in 2014 and 2015. These two extraordinary gatherings were held in the name of cultural reconciliation and environmental restoration. Nations gathered together to honour Indigenous ceremony and knowledge, to make a prayer for our Mother Earth, and to ask for the return of Paha Sapa (the Black Hills) to the rightful guardianship of the Pte Oyate (Lakota/Nakota/Dakota). They will gather again September 9-11, 2016 for the third year.

The first and second Unity Concerts created an unprecedented sense of hope and unity among the different factions of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota, which is needed for the successful return of these sacred lands. It also redefined the Native/non-Native relationship as one of respectful collaboration, allowing for the long overdue release of ancestral trauma and pain that exists on Turtle Island. Furthermore, the gathering created a space for various social and environmental issues to be voiced and connected. Invaluable alliances were forged and their impacts on the world continue to grow in many tangible ways.

To honor the four directions, at least two more unity concerts are planned at the same site in the Black Hills in 2016 and 2017. The Black Hills Unity Concert has also inspired planning for sister concerts in other Indigenous communities that see the need to come together and make this Unity Prayer. By creating these spaces, we have an opportunity to rapidly accelerate the movement building processes that are needed to address humanity’s greatest challenges.

You can be a part of history this year by contributing your time, skills, and resources to the Black Hills Unity Concert. Visit www.theblackhillsarenotforsale.org for more information.
You can also show your support by donationing online.